Dirty Dancing movie ?

[Encantooooo]

Would you say this was suitable for a 9 yo?

If you ever try to describe the plot to someone, you find that it is basically all about abortion.

Thats a small scene

I don’t think you understand how age ratings work, OP.

No. And I was watching films way worse at their age. Just because WE were allowed to, doesn't mean it was right.

And I still think I'd be pretty lax tbf. But no way should a 9 year old be watching that.

I have arched it at that age and asked my mum what was going on and she told me Penny had ‘got rid of a baby’. I didn’t really know what that meant. The sex scene is pretty mild and I don’t remember any racism, can you elaborate?

No way is it suitable for a 9 year old.

My daughter is 12 and in secondary school and I’m dealing with periods and child birth etc 😮 so the last thing I want to explain at the moment is what a abortion is.

So it’s a No for Dirty Dancing at the moment.

Practically speaking it's probably fine. Some of the things that adults notice are not that noticeable to kids. I had no idea how old either of them were really, they both seemed like adults to me. It was a lot more common for kids to just see films like this without much supervision at that time, and overall I have to ay, I'm not convinced we turned out worse than kids a generation later who were all watching comic book films.

But there isn't anything wrong with waiting either and she might enjoy it more later.

@alldressedupinblue

Hi, really interesting points for and against. I don't remember there being racist themes, though. Happy to be educated if I missed them.

There is definitely a sense that the parents want the kids to meet nice Jewish boys, and they aren't happy about Johnny not only because he's older and working class, but because he is Catholic.

I wouldn't call that a "racist theme" which seems to suggest the film is somehow racist, but it is looking at those kinds of very real experiences and attitudes. And I would say in a sensitive way.

But I don't think many kids pick up on the fact that it's a Jewish resort unless they are Jewish themselves or live near/are familiar with a large Jewish population..

I have seen the film so many times and religion never crossed my mind.
I thought it was more about older guy and younger girl and he was a dancer who looked great and entertained the ladies by offering “private lessons” and “Baby” was the Apple of her dads eye and he didn’t want her to grow up.

The dad didn’t like Johnny because he thought that Johnny was the father of Penny’s baby and wasn’t looking after her.

And because he was a bad boy in a leather jacket…

I don’t remember them mentioning being Jewish or Catholic.

@TheLightSideOfTheMoon

The dad didn’t like Johnny because he thought that Johnny was the father of Penny’s baby and wasn’t looking after her.

And because he was a bad boy in a leather jacket…

I don’t remember them mentioning being Jewish or Catholic.

Yeah your spot on and right he didn’t like the way he looked and he judged him for that and thought he got Penny Pregnant. He didn’t think the boy who was the son of the Resort Owner could of possibly got Penny pregnant because his family was rich and he wore suits and called him sir .

It wasn’t about religion at all .

I never realised it was a Jewish resort?

I though the dad didn't like him because he thought he got penny pregnant and then left her in the crap.

I though the dad didn't like him because he thought he got penny pregnant and then left her in the crap

He literally says this. When I'm wrong I say I'm wrong. You're spot on. It has nothing to do with race/religion. Maybe Class.

I went to see this at the theatre. There were two young children in front of me. Absolutely not the kind of theatre children should be at, same with the film.

It’s fine I saw it when I was younger and just enjoyed the dancing didn’t really understand the adulty bits

No. It was a 15 when released. Mature 13 plus imo.

Nope

@avamiah

No way is it suitable for a 9 year old.

My daughter is 12 and in secondary school and I’m dealing with periods and child birth etc 😮 so the last thing I want to explain at the moment is what a abortion is.

So it’s a No for Dirty Dancing at the moment.

How does a 12 year old not know what an abortion is?

Sex, child birth, periods, puberty and all that should have been covered between the ages of 8 and 10.
By 12, she should know what an abortion is. Pretty hard to avoid if you watch world news and they tall about abortion rights in the US etc.

It's quite often on TV during the afternoon (C5 I think) do they edit bits out? It's been a long time since I've seen it so can't remember each scene in detail.

I watched it at about 9 like a pp and loved it (I also watched IT at the same age and that absolutely scarred me for life).

It’s not a Children’s film regardless of how many of MN watched it 30 years ago.

Definitely no way would my 12 and 9 year olds be watching it

I watched it as a young kid and never watched the abortion reference. Also at 9 you won't really get the difference between 17 and 25. Although as somebody who had a 21 year old BF at 16, and a 24 BF at 19, I'm bit meh about that anyway.

No.

I'm not normally too fussy with age ratings if I've seen it and I think it's OK. But this really isn't a kids film. And back in the day there weren't many kids films. Now, there ARE. Watch those.

Adult themes (Especially creepy guy!) aren't necessary for a 9 year old.

I watched it first as an adult- maybe that's why I don't have this weird love for it!

@TheLightSideOfTheMoon

The dad didn’t like Johnny because he thought that Johnny was the father of Penny’s baby and wasn’t looking after her.

And because he was a bad boy in a leather jacket…

I don’t remember them mentioning being Jewish or Catholic.

The resort was one in the Borscht Belt. They catered to Jewish families at that time, when they often weren't welcome at other resorts.

All the families, the owners, and the waiters, were Jewish. The waiters were also mainly young university students and a good catch for a nice upper middle class Jewish girl.

It was just some of the lower end staff who were working class, and not Jewish - mostly Catholic from what we see in the film, from communities in NYC.

The religious element was absolutely an issue in the 60s in families like that. The father had a lot of integrity and admitted he was wrong about Johnny being a cad, that doesn't mean that was the only problem those families had.

I was about 9 or 10 when I watched it. Did me no harm. I think we overthink things these days. Similar topics are brought up in eastEnders , Corrie etc